I often encounter patients who are unhappy with their body image. There is tremendous pressure on us to look a certain way – especially women.
First and foremost, I believe weight should be managed from the aspect of helping my patients experience the best health possible.
But every person who diets faces very individualized challenges. Some lose the weight they want to easily. For others it’s more difficult. And exercise doesn’t spot reduce, you if you have a problem area, even exercise can leave you feeling unsuccessful.
Fortunately, some great new innovations have been made in the area of fat-reduction treatments. The new technologies aren’t invasive, and don’t require the use of needles, scalpels, or anesthesia. Too good to be true? Let’s see….
What really works to reduce body fat?
So you’ve tried diet and exercise but still have love handles that just won’t go away no matter what…
The first thing you might consider is liposuction surgery. Until you remember the pain and cost. Nobody wants that. Surgery is $2,500 to $5,000 per site such as love handles, plus the operating room and anesthesia adds another $2,200 or more depending on what city you to go. Plan to add another $1,500 to suck out the fat of a pocket on your back or lower belly.
The good news is, there are alternatives to liposuction and other surgery methods. They’re not invasive, and there’s no down-time. They also cost quite a bit less, but they do have a much less dramatic result in fat pocket elimination.
The process is aptly called non-surgical body contouring, and there are a few different ways you can have it done, including:
- extracorporeal shock wave therapy
- radiofrequency
- high intensity focused ultrasound
- low level laser/light therapy
- Cryolipolysis (Zeltiq coolsculpting)
Let’s look closer at each of these.
Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT)
This improves skin firmness and elasticity and helps your skin generate collagen, which enhances both of those effects. An example is the ZWavePro aimed at treating cellulite, connective tissue weakness or stretch marks. It’s probably best in combination with the other technologies for fat reduction. In one initial small study [1] of ESWT reported in 2007, while most subjects reported improved skin, only seven reported a “clear improvement” in cellulite reduction or tighter skin. Only a few patient reported unacceptable pain.
Radiofrequency (radio waves)
Radio wave devices such as Vanquish™ are considered an efficient, non-painful, and non-invasive fat reduction method. It heats the fat pocket to break down your outer 1-2 cm of fat cells, ultimately causing the dermal fat to contract and shrink.
You’ll need 4 to 6 treatments about a week apart.
Keeping a healthy dietary and exercise lifestyle will be very important to keep the fat cells from re-growing.
It is often used with an ultrasound device such as the Z Wave to break up the fat destroyed by the radiofrequency device.
Other radiofrequency devices are used mainly to treat cellulite such as the Vela Smooth™ and Vela Shape™ which have the most reported experience, with satisfaction ratings at 60% with multiple treatments.
Other names are Thermage™ and Accent™ radiofrequency devices.
High intensity focused ultrasound
High-intensity focused ultrasound energy (HIFU) devices are a non-invasive fat reduction treatment that permanently destroys fat cells. An example would be Liposonix™.
It is somewhat like using a diagnostic ultrasound but with very precise targeting of the energy to destroy subcutaneous fat cells at a controlled depth of certain body areas.
It only requires one 60 minute procedure with no “down-time” for recovery. Prices start at around $2,400 for multiple areas.
Low level laser therapy (LLLT)
LLLT causes temporary small holes in fat cell membranes through which fat is released, but without bursting or destroying the cell. That way, fat cells shrink but do remain in place. Zerona™ is one example.
Research shows that LLLT reduces overall body circumference measurements of areas such as your hips, waist, thighs, and arms. It takes about 40 minutes per procedure for six procedures, costs $2,000 to $3,500, and you can expect to see full results in just two weeks.
Apparently more recent studies have shown lasting effectiveness if you maintain a healthy diet, eliminate caffeine and alcohol, and exercise during and after treatment (because the cells can fill up again with fat).
Cryolipolysis (“coolsculpting”)
Because your fat cells are uniquely sensitive to cold temperatures, this near-freezing technology placed onto a fat area such as your lower belly or love handles causes inflammation that triggers fat cells (but not other cells) to die over 2-3 months.
It works for subcutaneous fat you can pinch, NOT visceral fat that is deeper below your trunk muscles. Fat cells essentially self-destruct (also called “programmed death”) and then become reabsorbed and dissolve so they can be eliminated from your body.
This effect does not affect your blood cholesterol or liver function.
The one-time treatment like Zeltiq™ for example has been shown to kill off 23% of the fat cells and typically costs $750 per area. There have been more than 1.3 million treatments done worldwide and 40 peer reviewed articles in support of its effectiveness. It is the first device FDA cleared for fat reduction. You can watch Dr. Oz and his guests demonstrate it on this short video.
Remember that these devices are for reducing fat pockets and not for general body weight loss, which I discussed in a series of articles in August and September of last year, beginning here: http://easyhealthoptions.com/abcs-weight-loss-surgery/.
To feeling good,
Michael Cutler, M.D.
Easy Health Options
[1] Angehrn F, Kuhn C, Voss A. Can cellulite be treated with low-energy extracorporeal shock wave therapy? Clinical Interventions in Aging. 2007;2(4):623-630.
